Actually, Trump is your president

posted by Jeff | Saturday, January 20, 2018, 11:55 PM | comments: 0

Political discourse in the United States has been, you could say, worthless the last few years. It seems like people don't care about reality, facts or each other. That's about the only way you explain how a reality TV star got elected as president, despite doing and saying things that would disqualify most of us from even the most simple jobs. Seriously, you couldn't work in fast food part-time if you went around telling people you "grab them by the pussy" or insult the service record of veterans. And yet, here we are.

A friend of mine, that I love and respect, has made a number of posts pointing out the absurdity of this all, and often concluded with some variation on the phrase "not my president." I found myself taking issue with that, and we argued a bit about it, too. It's a divisive thing to say, and not constructive, because it serves only to further drag down the discourse. It's the same kind of thing that got the guy elected in the first place.

More to the point, the person in the White House is your president, and to reject that is to release the president from accountability and excuse yourself from engaging in the process. It's apathy disguised as outrage, and again, exactly the reason that we're in this situation. There is no evidence that anything resembling a majority of Americans are OK with this toxic and undignified behavior, and Facebook activism isn't going to make a difference.

Outrage is easy, action is harder.

American citizenship comes with a civic duty to engage. It's not just voting, it's holding your congresscritters accountable, and letting them know what you believe is moral and just. It's encouraging others to ask hard questions and apply the same standards to all parties, even if you insist on picking a "team." Donate not to PAC's, but civil rights charities and individual candidates. Volunteer for on-the-ground campaigns.

Trump is the guy representing you as president. Denying that doesn't make it less true. Hold him, and those that support him, accountable.